The Clone Wars: The Domino Effect
by DiamondStar40
Summary: Once written off as failures, clone troopers Echo and Fives have ascended to the ranks of the ARC troopers. But first, they must pass a rigorous training program on Kamino, where they will not only learn how to be Advanced Recon Commandos, but that they are more than the sum of their cloned genetics.
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

"I was curious to see how far you'd go to find me."

The woman who stood before him didn't turn around. She didn't have to, for he knew the HUD in her helmet allowed her to have a clear, three-hundred-and-sixty-degree view of her surroundings. His provided the same information when he required it, as all Mandalorian helmets did. Instead, she elected to look out over the snowy precipice on which she stood.

"You're not easy to track, Ms. Fehl," he said matter-of-factly. "Once I had you, I wasn't about to let you slip away."

It was true. This woman had lead him on a months-long chase across the galaxy. Even though now she stood on the edge of a cliff, he knew better than to think that he had her cornered. At any moment, she could evade him once more. Her skills were impressive - born of an intense desire not to be found. All the more reason why he needed her help.

"High praise, coming from the great Jango Fett." She finally turned around, "Or is it _Mand'alor_ these days?"

His jaw clenched slightly. He had held the title for a time, but the old ways were long gone. As far as he was concerned, the mantle had died with Jaster Mereel. If this woman abided by the same code he did, the same tenets that made a _Mando_, she would know as well as he did that their way of life was all but destroyed.

But that's not why he was here.

"You proved your worth, now it's time to talk business."

The woman removed her white helmet, confirming his suspicion that she had had enough of the games. "Business?" She scoffed, "That's what this is about?"

Fett removed his own helmet, "Consider it...a proposal, of-sorts."

"Whoever gave you my name surely told you I'm no longer in the business of collecting bounties." She raised a delicate blonde eyebrow.

Of course, they had. The reclusive bounty hunter known as Miri Fehl was one of the best, but hadn't been active for several months. Some said the young, ambitious woman had bitten off more than she could chew, and had died. Others said that she just disappeared and didn't want to be found. It was no matter, because that's not what he was after.

"There is no bounty," he reassured her. "It's much more involved than that."

Ice blue eyes narrowed, "So, what _is_ involved?"

"I can't tell you much," he admitted. "Suffice to say, I need your skill set to help train the finest army in the galaxy."

"Army?" She blinked, "You need me to train an army?"

Fett shrugged, "More specifically, commandos. You will be handsomely compensated, of course."

Her icy gaze still bore through his skull, "And the catch?"

_She's smart,_ he thought. Even at nineteen, she'd been all over the galaxy, and new that everything had a price. "You would become _cuy'val_ _dar._"

_Cuy'val Dar._ Those who no longer exist. She would have to give up clan, kin, and everything she had ever known. By the look on her face, Fett saw she knew exactly what he had said.

With a smirk and a chuckle, she shook her head, "_Nu daar." _Not on your life. Obviously, the price was too steep. Fett knew next to nothing about her, but now he knew that she had plenty in her life that she felt was worth living for. Maybe he could use that some day.

_But not today._

Replacing her helmet, the young woman said, "Good luck training your army."

"Won't need luck," Fett smirked before he put on his helmet, as well. By the time he looked back up again, she was gone.

_Eight years later_

_Clone Cadet Training Facility_

_Tipoca City, Kamino_

Ja'dari Cerar approached a figure standing at the railing overlooking the training floor. He cut an imposing image in his white and blue armor with a double-sided pauldron, and armed to the teeth. His facial features bore more than a resemblance to the late Jango Fett, save for heavy scarring he had earned on numerous battlefields.

"What have we got, Alpha?"

The clone shook his head, arms crossed, "Domino Squad, one of the new units they just put together."

She peered over the railing, observing a squad of five other clones, identical in their white and green training uniforms. The only way to tell them apart were the numbers painted on their backs.

"And?"

"And they're an absolute mess. I guarantee you, not a single one of them will be a prospect for us."

"You never know," Ja'dari continued to focus her attention on the squad. They were quite uncoordinated, and certainly didn't get along with one another.

One of the clone cadets wielded a DC-15A long rifle, and appeared to be a good shot with it at long range. However, he relied heavily on the others if the droids got too close. Another favored a rapid-fire gatling gun, and didn't much care to try and coordinate his attacks with the others. She chewed on her bottom lip as the squads next set of orders came in over the intercom.

"_Advance and secure objective."_

"We need to advance and secure the objective!" One of them shouted over the din of blaster bolts.

"We heard it the _first_ time! I swear, it's like there's a blasted echo in here!" Another shouted back.

"Well, if you lot would actually _follow_ the orders, I wouldn't have to repeat them!"

"Will you two just _SHUT UP?"_ A third clone joined the argument.

"Not until _you _stop being droid bait!"

"How am I supposed to aim with you three going at it?" The clone with the long blaster sighed in exasperation.

She couldn't deny that they weren't getting anywhere, thanks to their lack of teamwork. But they had seen this before with other squads. "They seem to be doing okay, at least for their first week."

"Until the bickering breaks out," Alpha said, "then it devolves into what I've come to call the 'Domino Effect.'"

"Yes, they do fall apart rather quickly, don't they?"

Alpha grunted and crossed his arms, "See what I mean?"

Indeed she did. But she didn't have time to think on it further before someone cleared their throat behind them.

"Excuse me, Lieutenants," one of their clone students, an ARC trainee, addressed them.

"Yes, Riley?" Ja'dari turned around to face him, while Alpha didn't bother. She was generally considered the most approachable of the ARC instructors, anyway.

"I had some questions regarding Echani combat doctrine, ma'am. If you can spare the time."

Ja'dari nodded to her student, "Of course, just give me a minute." She turned back just in time to watch Domino Squad fall to simulated blaster bolts in rapid succession.

Alpha shook his head, "Like I said, Ja'dari. Not a single one of them."

"Stranger things have happened," she shrugged.

"Always the optimist," Alpha said dismissively.

"My people have a saying, Alpha," she patted the helmet she held at her side for emphasis. "'_Verd ori'shya beskar'gam.'_ A warrior is more than his armor. Only time will tell if they amount to anything."

The alpha-ARC nodded once and grunted noncommittally. It was the best she was going to get out of him.

On their way down to their classrooms, she and Riley passed by Ninety-Nine, an old, decrepit clone from an earlier batch who served as a janitor of-sorts, no doubt on his way to clean up the training floor. Ja'dari felt a pang in her stomach at the reminder of what could happen to those clones if their armor proved to be too heavy. She quickly put it out of her mind. There wasn't anything she could do to help them.

Not now, at least.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

"You know, I never thought I'd miss the rain."

Echo looked over at his best friend and smirked, "Oh yeah, is that so?"

"Yeah," Fives said, smiling and shaking his head, "all that time in training, wanting to get out on the front lines, that incessant sound always reminded me I was stuck here."

Echo nodded, "I remember wondering if I would have to listen to it for the rest of my life."

"I know exactly the feeling."

Not too long ago, Echo and Fives were still cadets, trying to pass their basic training so that they could join the Grand Army of the Republic as full-fledged troopers. It hadn't been easy - working as a cohesive team wasn't something any of them were particularly good at. They almost didn't make it, and they tried not to think too hard about what could have become of them if they had failed. There were always the clones like Ninety-Nine, who were reassigned to work maintenance and the dirty jobs that were too undignified for the Kaminoans. Earlier in the program, they knew that clones had even been terminated for performing below expectations.

But they had persevered, and their hard work was already starting to pay off.

"I didn't expect to be back so soon," Echo crossed his arms on the railing of the observation deck. "It's still surreal. The last time we were here, we barely made it past basic training. Now? We're training to be ARC troopers!"

Fives smiled, but only half-heartedly, still looking out at the churning, gray sea. "Hevy should be here with us."

Echo pursed his lips and looked down. Out of all of them, Hevy wanted to be an ARC trooper the most. It's what drove him to be so fiercely independent during training; he always tried to outshine everyone else, often at the expense of the operation. But, in the end, he was the one who pulled them all together. In the end, he sacrificed himself to save his brothers.

"I'm sure he'd be very proud of us for getting this far," Echo put a hand on Fives's shoulder.

The other clone bucked up a bit, looking at him with a lopsided grin, "Yeah, he'd want us to kick ass."

"So let's kick ass," Echo grinned, thumping his brother on the back.

Rubbing her temples forcefully, Ja'dari tried to focus on the documents displayed on her computer terminal. The mounting headache she was fighting was making the task quite difficult. When the chime on her door sounded, she had to work to keep the irritability out of her voice when she said, "Come in."

A Togruta glided through the doors, her floor-length robes giving the illusion that she floated across the floor. The elegant woman walked with her hands in front of her, fingers pressed together in an inverted steeple.

"Am I interrupting you, Ja'dari?"

Relieved to have an excuse to look away from the screen, Ja'dari shook her head, "No, General Shaak Ti. I was just looking over the rosters for the class that starts tomorrow." She rose from her chair, "Can I offer you something to drink?"

The Jedi held up a hand, "No thank you, but I appreciate the offer."

"Very well," she clasped her hands behind her back. "What can I do for you, General?"

Shaak Ti gestured to the armchairs situated around a low, round table. "I thought we could talk."

"Talk?" Ja'dari raised an eyebrow, but took a seat all the same. Shaak Ti sat across from her and nodded.

"I wanted to see how you were doing," she said simply.

Ja'dari shrugged, "What is there to tell? I haven't gotten much sleep, but that's about it." Despite her nonchalant attitude, she could tell Shaak Ti wasn't buying it.

"Ever since the battle, you have been disquieted."

It was a simple observation, and Ja'dari knew she couldn't argue with it. The sleepless nights, the headaches, and her lack of focus in the week since open hostilities broke out on Kamino were clearly signs that things were _not_ alright.

Ja'dari smirked as she relaxed back into her chair, "That bad, huh?"

"There is no shame in it," Shaak Ti shrugged, spreading her hands. "Combat is stressful, even to the most sound of minds."

"Well, open war wasn't something I signed on for, that's for sure." Ja'dari got up from her seat and started pacing around her quarters. Unlike most rooms and facilities in Tipoca City, which were a sterile, gloss white, her room featured a color palette of warm taupes and muted browns. The lighting was also much softer, coming from sconces spaced evenly on the walls. At the back of the room, just beyond her bed, was a large window with electronic blinds that looked out over the endless Kamino torrent. She flicked the blinds open and stared outside, where night was steadily falling on the waves. Soon, the lights of the distant modules suspended over the waves would be the only thing she would be able to see.

To say Ja'dari was an excellent combatant would be to severely understate her abilities. She had spent most of her relatively short life fighting, honing and evolving her skills ever since she was five years old. Before that, she fought every day just to survive. It was the _Mando_ way, the only way she had ever known. That was why she had been hired for this job; she was a living weapon.

But that didn't make her a soldier.

Still looking out the window, she mused, "You hired me to train armies, not lead them."

"True," Shaak Ti conceded. "However, despite that, you did well."

Ja'dari spun around, eyebrows drawn together, "Did I?" She made direct eye contact with the Jedi, "One of my men died following orders _I_ gave him."

Shaak Ti held her gaze evenly, "As I understand, it was something that had to be done. You made the correct decision."

"I'm sure that will make Colt rest easier," Ja'dari said icily.

Lightning lit up the velvety rain clouds, and suddenly she was back in the battle. Droids advanced relentlessly down the corridors of the clone trooper barracks.

_"Go! We'll cover you!" _Colt had called out to her.

_"I am __not__ leaving you, dammit!" _She had growled in reply.

_"This is not up for debate, ma'am."_

Ja'dari curled her right hand into a fist and beat it against the window. In that moment, she knew she couldn't save them. She got the cadets to safety before Grievous marched up the halls and slaughtered Colt and his men. It had been a calculated sacrifice to save the future of the Grand Army, and intellectually, she knew that. Emotionally, it had been brutal to watch Colt as she retreated around the corner, knowing she'd never see him again.

She felt Shaak Ti's gaze at her back as she let her hand go limp and slide down the window before letting her arm dangle at her side.

"You have never lost a comrade?" Shaak Ti sounded dubious

The younger woman looked briefly over her shoulder, "Of course I have. But my people - my clan - we work together. None of this giving and taking of orders. This is different."

As she had said, she wasn't a soldier. Telling someone to lay down their life, especially for her sake, wasn't something she was used to, nor was it something she felt she could ever get used to. It certainly didn't sit right now, with the memory of her former student haunting her.

In a way, the Jedi were in the same situation. They often worked together to fight, and had during the Yinchorri Crisis ten years prior, but they weren't trained to lead armies any more than she was. However, due to the nature of their existence, they were in a much better position to deal with the emotional toll.

"In time, you will learn to let go," Shaak Ti rose from her chair. "Focus on what needs to be done, instead of living in the past."

Ja'dari sighed heavily, "I know, and I will." These were lessons she had already learned, more than the Jedi master knew.

"Then I will leave you to it," Shaak Ti bowed slightly, burying her hands in her sleeves before leaving.

"Shaak Ti," Ja'dari called out just as the doors opened. The Jedi halted over the threshold. "Thank you."

Inclining her head gracefully, the togruta finally made her exit.

For a while, Ja'dari still stood by the window, thinking about Colt. She looked over her shoulder at her desk, and all the sheets of flimsi scattered across it. Finally, she went over to it and picked up the top sheet. It was the class roster, which included all the CT numbers of the new ARC candidates. With a touch of annoyance, she saw that as usual, her request to have their nicknames alongside the identifying numbers had again fallen on deaf ears. But it was no matter, she would just ask them.

Tossing the sheet of flimsi back on her desk, she flopped onto her bed and stared at the ceiling for an indeterminate amount of time before deciding to at least try to get some sleep.

After all, tomorrow was training day.

They thought they had seen the biggest, baddest clones in the field. Captain Rex was a force to be reckoned with, even on his worst day. Commander Cody was so cool and calculating under fire, it was genuinely scary. Commander Wolffe was so tough that his entire battalion was called "the Wolfpack." But none of them held a candle to the clone who stood before them now.

Even though he was of the same genetic stock, Alpha-17 appeared to stand slightly taller, and with twice as much bulk as the rest of them. Blazing red double pauldrons sat atop his broad shoulders, with matching markings adorning his arms and helmet. This was the man who not only lead the ARC program, but had created it. All the clones that Echo and Fives had come to respect and admire, had trained under his watchful gaze since before they had ever even held a blaster rifle.

He was flanked by the other instructors, hand-picked for their knowledge and expertise in their respective fields. To his left stood a male Twi'lek and a female Iktotchi, to his right, a male Bith and a figure in white armor, face hidden behind a distinctive Mandalorian T-visor. The clone himself held his helmet at his side, so that he could scowl at the recruits lined up before him.

"My name is Alpha," he began, his voice as rough as the scars on his face. "You all earned the privilege of being here, and you must earn the privilege to stay. Even though you are here, nothing is guaranteed.

"The Grand Army of the Republic has spared no expense scouring the galaxy for the best of the best to train you. You may be good enough to get into this program, but..." He threw a hand behind him towards the other instructors, "_we _will decide if you are worthy of the title 'ARC Trooper.'"

Echo stiffened visibly next to Fives, who shifted his glance sideways for just an instant before Alpha continued.

"The subjects in this program are difficult, and the course material is designed to challenge you to your limits. Every skill you learn will ensure your best chance to complete complex missions deep in enemy territory. Every instructor in this program are among the elite, hand-selected by Jango Fett himself to instruct you in their fields of expertise.

"Survival training is essential to a commando, and Lieutenant Bin'talla will show you how to weather the most treacherous environments." The Twi'lek stepped forward as Alpha introduced him.

"To give you familiarity with the many heavy vehicles you may encounter on your missions, the Grand Army has brought in Lieutenant Riik. She will also train you in the use of heavy weapons." The Iktotchi female raised her hand in acknowledgement.

"It may surprise you, but a basic knowledge of slicing and computer security systems is vital to your success. This is Lieutenant K'sohn's specialty." The Bith bowed graciously.

"Stealth, reconnaissance, sniping, and the more subtle aspects of battle will be your focus with Lieutenant Cerar." The Mandalorian helmet inclined slowly and ever so slightly.

"As for myself," Alpha concluded, "I will teach you to hone the skills you already know. You will improve your marksmanship, use of all standard weapons classes, strategic thinking, and hand-to-hand skills.

"Finally, at the end of your training, you will undergo the final test. Each section has been personally tailored by the instructors, pulling from the lessons they have taught you. Pass, and you will become ARC Troopers."

There was an excited buzz among the candidates. Fives was particularly impressed - the instructors he had in basic training were little more than mercenary scum, but these guys were professionals. He looked over at Echo, and his brother grinned, showing that he was anticipating their training as much as Fives was.

Alpha held up his hand for silence, and the chatter died down.

"To push you even further, the highest-performing ARC candidate will receive the highest honor this training program can bestow: the ACE award. The Advanced Combat Excellence award is not just a medal, but proof that those who earn it are truly the best of the best."

"I'm totally getting that." Fives muttered out of the side of his mouth.

Echo quickly jabbed him in the ribs, "You wish."

They exchanged a few more barbs, distracted as Alpha went on, "...You will therefore be divided into training groups. Training schedules will go out immediately, and all training groups will start precisely at 1300 hours." He finally concluded, "You are dismissed, and may the Force be with you."

The clones all broke formation as soon as they were dismissed. Some were already checking the commpads on their gauntlets for their training schedules. Fives shook his head as he took off his bucket, "Did you think he was ever going to shut up?"

Echo took off his own helmet, grinning, "He had to, eventually." Their gauntlets chirped simultaneously and they checked them, "Looks like we get to see him first thing, too."

Fives groaned. Sure enough, they were in Training Group Aurek, and their first training rotation was Advanced Close Quarters Combat with Alpha. There were six training rotations scheduled throughout the afternoon and evening, in increments of one hour each. "Six hours," Fives remarked, "not so bad for the first day."

"Yeah, well, I'm not holding my breath. Those guys looked like serious business."

"And a Mandalorian? I didn't think there were any of them left, save for the ones that don't like blasters…"

"I'm sure that's what they'd like us to believe," Echo snorted. "Personally, I'm more worried about the Bith. Slicing? My hands aren't going to know what to do without a blaster."

Fives chuckled and slapped Echo on the back, "I'm sure you'll do better than me, you're the brains out of the two of us. Now come on, let's get some chow before we get the stuffing beat out of us."

At least they got fed better than they did in basic training. It helped that they had more than a few minutes to bolt down their food.

When the first training rotation rolled around, Echo and Fives made their way to the gym where they had their first exposure to CQC as cadets. The floors and lower walls were lined with blue padded mats, reflecting the harsh fluorescent lighting off their shiny vinyl surfaces. Alpha entered the room, still striking an impressive silhouette even though he only wore his black bodysuit and a wrist-mounted commlink. Echo and Fives exchanged looks and looked down at each others' armor. They were starting to wonder if they were overdressed.

Alpha didn't say anything, but rather pushed a couple of buttons on the device on his wrist. The mats on the floor began to roll away, disappearing through compartments that opened in the walls. They made way for the sterile white tile that dominated Tipoca City's interior architecture.

"Did you know they could do that?" Fives raised his eyebrows.

"Nope," Echo shook his head.

"Since this is the first day," Alpha spoke up, "I will need to personally evaluate each of you and your current skill level. Line up by CT number."

They did as ordered, which forced Echo and Fives to split up. That also made Echo first in line at the far left.

Alpha beckoned to him from the center of the room. Echo nodded silently and went to remove his armor, which caused Alpha to shake his head, "No, you're going to want to keep your armor on."

Echo slowly replaced the hand plate that he had already taken off, looking askance down the line at Fives. He swallowed and approached the mountain of a clone.

The instructor didn't move, which obviously perplexed Echo, so he beckoned again, "Attack me, trooper."

"Sir?"

"Attack me."

Echo swung at Alpha, but before he could get it going, Alpha violently blocked his bicep, bare hand contacting Echo's armor. He didn't even look fazed.

Fives watched, sweat breaking out on his brow as Echo tried again and again to get a hit through to Alpha, but was smothered every time. After getting hit in the gap between his bicep armor and his shoulder bell one too many times, he shook his arm as if it had gone numb. His frustration mounting, he shouted out as he charged Alpha again. Fives couldn't exactly figure out how, because Alpha was freakishly fast for a big guy, but he managed to flip Echo over his hip and dump him to the floor. Echo hit on his upper back, his duraplast armor making a loud crashing sound as it came into contact with the unforgiving tile.

"Next!" Alpha called out as Echo got off the floor, groaning and rubbing the back of his neck vigorously.

This was going to be a long rotation.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Alpha's lesson had been rough. After personally kicking the snot out of every ARC trainee in the room, he had paired them up for full-contact sparring, sans armor. He just circled the group, making no suggestions save for the occasional loud reminder not to pull their punches. Once everyone had fought each other at least once, Alpha dismissed them, saying that the "real work" would begin the next day. Echo and Fives, drenched in sweat and covered with welts that were sure to become bruises, had to wonder what "real work" looked like.

The battered candidates got a reprieve with Lieutenant K'sohn in the next rotation, although his droning lesson about binary and hexadecimal systems was enough to make them want to doze off. Luckily, they got to wake up by racing speeder bikes in Lieutenant Riik's first training session. Lieutenant Bin'talla was a bit less forgiving, deciding to kick them off of a high platform in full armor, into the roaring sea. He laughed at them as they tried to figure out how to get themselves back up out of the water.

They drug themselves into their last training session, exhausted and weighed down by their soaking armor. To their surprise, no one was in the designated training room.

"You sure we're in the right place?" Fives raised an eyebrow.

Echo nodded slowly, checking his gauntlet to make sure. "Yeah. This is the right place. 'Stealth Combat Methods' with Lieutenant Cerar, room two-one-two."

The two clones looked at each other and shrugged.

A few seconds later, they heard one of the other recruits cry out in alarm. Before they could process what had happened, Fives felt a sharp pain in his temple and had his feet swept out from under him. Echo also tumbled to the floor, grasping at his gut, trying to get his breath back. It appeared that everyone else had fallen victim, as well; they all sat up, groaning and muttering obscenities.

Echo rubbed his neck again, which hurt even more now, thanks to the latest insult. "What in blazes…?"

He looked over at Fives, who was staring, mouth agape, straight ahead. Echo gave him a funny look before he realized what his friend was staring at.

A single figure stood before them, of average height and slight build, wearing white armor. It dawned on Echo that this was probably the reason they were all knocked on their asses. The Mandalorian warrior had come seemingly out of nowhere.

Whoever this mysterious instructor was, they cut an imposing figure. The armor configuration was different than they had seen earlier; the Mandalorian now wore a close-fitting silver suit and Grand Army-issue gauntlets, back plate, and belt in addition to the Mandalorian-style armor. Echo's jaw dropped just as far as Fives's when the Mandalorian's bucket came off.

A woman stared at them with narrowed eyes, matching the ice-colored accents on her T-visor. "My name is Ja'dari Cerar, but you sorry lot can call me 'Lieutenant.'"

A smattering of "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" stumbled out of the clones' mouths, causing Lieutenant Cerar to raise a slender eyebrow.

"DOWN! ON YOUR FACES!" She bellowed.

The clones complied, scrambling into a neat line, and began to execute push-ups as fast as they could.

"Now, I don't give a bantha's ass about which you use, but BE CONSISTENT!"

A mess of "yes sir" and "yes ma'am" followed. Lieutenant Cerar was not impressed.

"As troopers, you should already know how to think as one, to anticipate one another. From what I see, you should all be busted back down to cadets!"

More discording answers followed.

"Can you, or can you not, follow a simple instruction, troopers?! CAN YOU FOLLOW SIMPLE INSTRUCTIONS?"

"Yes, ma'am!" They chorused.

She nodded in satisfaction, "That's better. Up!"

The clones got to their feet and stood at attention.

Lieutenant Cerar consulted her datapad, "I already took attendance earlier, I know you're all here. However, I'd like to know what I should

actually call you. I've never been good with numbers."

She proceeded to call out their numbers, "CT-zero-four-zero-eight."

"Echo, ma'am."

"CT-one-four-seven-five."

"Blaze, ma'am."

"CT-two-two-six-three."

"Max, ma'am."

"CT-four-one-three-nine."

"Charlie, ma'am."

"CT-five-five-five-five."

"Fives, ma'am."

"CT-eight-four-eight-six"

"Redback, ma'am."

She finished making notes on her datapad, then put it in a large pouch on her left thigh. "Today's lesson is going to be on situational awareness. Good thing, since you all failed the pop quiz miserably."

Fives tilted his head to the side, "Ma'am?"

Just when he thought he was going to get chewed out for speaking out of turn, Lieutenant Cerar approached him, "Fives, right?"

He nodded, wondering how she had been able to recognize him so quickly.

"Answer a question for me. How many dimensions are there in space?"

"Three, ma'am," he answered without hesitation.

"Indeed. However, you and your brothers seemed to only recall two of those three dimensions."

"You were on the ceiling," Fives said, the corner of his mouth creeping upward. "None of us looked at the ceiling when we walked in here."

She nodded, "Very good, trooper. You're the only candidate to come up with that on his own."

Echo noticed Fives's chest swell a bit under his armor. His lips thinned as he focused back on Lieutenant Cerar, determined to absorb every

bit of information he could.

"Visually scanning an area isn't enough. It's a start, but you must be intuitively aware of your surroundings at all times. You won't always be able to rely on your Jedi officers and their extra-sensory abilities. By the time we're through, you will have the training you need to assess and neutralize threats quickly and efficiently, before they have the opportunity to recognize you as such. It will make you a successful Advanced Recon Commando. Moreover," she emphasized, "it will keep you _alive._"

The hour that followed was filled with puzzles and tricks that were designed to confound the mind. While Fives might have impressed Lieutenant Cerar first, Echo seemed to catch on to the concepts much more easily.

"Your eyes can deceive you, Fives, don't be so reliant on one set of inputs." Cerar reminded him gently after a cloaked remote zapped him yet again.

Fives growled under his breath, "It's not like I have eyes in the back of my head."

Cerar tapped the side of her helmet, "Jango Fett designed your armor with the same technology the _Mando'ade_ have used for millennia. But you won't always be able to rely on it."

The remote got him again, and he grunted in frustration. He looked over at Echo, who seemed to evade the remote's attacks with ease. "I don't suppose you can tell me what I _can_ rely on?"

"Instinct," she said simply, taking off her helmet. "The Jedi aren't the only ones who have it." She grabbed the remote out of the air and re-programmed it to attack her. The remote disappeared, and she cocked her head to the side. Before Fives could open his mouth, the remote decloaked and fired, a mere fraction of a second before Lieutenant Cerar drew a DC-17 blaster out of a hanging holster on her kama and pulled the trigger. Fizzling with electricity, the remote shut down and fell to the ground.

Fives raised an eyebrow as he knelt down to retrieve the remote. "How did you do that?"

The Mandalorian didn't answer him, she just nodded at the remote, "Focus on that, and that alone."

Dubiously, Fives re-activated and released it, subconsciously bracing to be zapped again. His grip tightened noticeably on his pistol.

"Relax," Lieutenant Cerar coached, "and listen."

He took a deep breath and did as she said. Suddenly, he saw it out of the corner of his eye; a slight distortion before the remote de-cloaked. Fives was surprised enough that it took him a couple of shots, but he managed to take it down.

"Much better," Cerar smiled and nodded in approval. "Keep at it, Fives. Developing your instinct further will make you a great ARC trooper."

Fives returned her smile, "Thanks, Lieutenant." He watched her go to help the other clones. Without realizing it, he stood there long enough for the remote to auto-activate.

"AHHH! BLAST IT!"

\- TCW -

Echo let out a long sigh as he removed his last piece of armor and placed it meticulously in his footlocker. He looked over at Fives, who was stacking his in a pile on his bunk.

"I don't know about you, Echo, but I am absolutely wiped." Fives flopped onto the floor.

"Yeah, if this was just the first day, we're in for a rough couple of months." Echo shoved his footlocker under his bunk before he layed down on it.

The other clone pressed his cheek to the floor and moved his shoulders in an awkward shrug, "I dunno, I guess it's not too bad. Better than dodging clankers, eh?"

Echo grinned, "There is that."

Redback, one of the other clones in their training group, entered their barracks. "Hey, the rest of us are going to the Lightning Rod, if you wanna come along."

"Lightning Rod?" Fives sat up.

"Yeah, it's a bar. A little place to decompress."

Echo raised an eyebrow, "I've never heard of such a place here."

Redback shrugged, "I suppose they built it a little while back to keep the clones stationed here from going stir crazy."

Echo and Fives looked at each other, then back at their teammate. "Sure, a little unit cohesion is never a bad thing."

Fives popped his shoulder, "I could certainly use a drink."

"Come on then, the others are already there."

As the name suggested, Lightning Rod was at the top of the tallest building in the Tipoca City training center, distinguished by a large rod protruding from the structure. Fives knew there were several similar hangouts favored by clone troopers elsewhere, but he'd never been to one. Thanks to their combat effectiveness, the 501st was rarely in one spot long enough for R&amp;R.

Despite the low lighting, the three troopers managed to find their fellows in a corner booth. The electric blue glow emanating from lines in the ceiling provided the only illumination, different shades of it flowing organically through the vast network, seemingly timed to synthesized beats. The overall ambiance was exciting, if a bit strange. Echo wondered if this was what it would be like to step into the brain of a clanker.

"I never thought I'd see anything here that didn't look completely sterile." Fives quipped.

"It still is," Echo tilted his head as they sat down, "just not in the same way."

"You'll catch yourself nodding along to the music, though." The clone called Blaze said, his voice raised so they could hear him.

"It is catchy," Fives agreed, tapping his fingers absentmindedly on the table.

A server droid rolled up, depositing water glasses for each of them. She left after they gave her their drink orders.

"I rather like this spot," Max grinned as he looked around. "A good place to stretch your legs after a long day."

"Or your neck," Echo grunted, rubbing his neck gingerly.

"Heh," Redback grinned, "Alpha was especially hard on you."

"On all of us," Max remarked.

"I dunno," Blaze said, "I think Lieutenant Bin'talla was more brutal. Literally sink or swim. He was even _laughing_ at us."

"I think Lieutenant K'sohn literally melted my brain," Redback said, getting a chuckle out of his comrades.

Fives had been unusually interested in his water when the others prodded him.

"Hey Fives, what about you? Who do you think gave us the worst time?"

Without really thinking, Fives touched his temple, just below his tattoo. As soon as he thought it, he saw her walk up to the bar.

Echo elbowed him, "Hey Fives, you in there?"

"Wha?" Fives shook himself, then looked at the others. "Oh, uh... Lieutenant Cerar got me pretty good."

Blaze followed his line of sight and raised his eyebrows, "I'll say she did." Redback tried to hold in a snicker, but failed.

"Someone fancies an instructor!" Max hooted. Echo nudged him playfully.

Fives shushed them all, "She's _right there!_" He hissed, "Besides, I _do not._"

For one horrifying second, Fives thought she was turning her head to look at them, but as it turned out, she was greeting Alpha as he walked up to the spot next to her at the bar. The bartender droid served Alpha a drink, and he toasted with Lieutenant Cerar before they left the bar for a booth across the way.

Echo carefully observed his friend's sour expression, "Yeah, keep telling yourself that."

Fives shot him a glare. "I respect her. She's got a mean kick." He touched his temple again, not taking his eyes off of her and Alpha.

"I hear you had quite a day with the new trainees." Alpha said matter-of-factly.

Ja'dari shrugged, dragging her finger around the rim of her glass, "Just sorting them out, that's all."

"I can't tell if you're getting better, or if our recruits are getting softer."

"In their defense," she pointed to nothing in particular, "I take out every single class the first time. At least one of them _did_ figure it out."

"Oh?" Alpha arched an eyebrow over his drink.

She took a sip, "CT-five-five-five-five."

Alpha gave her a puzzled look, and Ja'dari knew exactly why. To go along with Alpha's enhanced physical abilities, he also had an eidetic memory.

"Domino Squad." It was a statement, not a question.

Ja'dari smirked. It wasn't often that she got to hold something over the enhanced clone's head. "He's shaping up to be one of the best in this class, and if my initial evaluations are anything to go on, his friend CT-zero-four-zero-eight will be even better."

With barely-contained glee, she watched Alpha slump a bit, sighing heavily. He reached into his utility belt and pulled out a handful of ingots, placing them in a pile in front of her.

"Where's the other half?"

Alpha looked at her blankly.

"The other half," she explained. "Remember? You said that you'd bet a thousand credits not even one of them would make it this far. Two have."

Alpha groaned, "That's everything I have on me."

Ja'dari shrugged, "I suppose starting a standing tab for me will suffice."

The alpha-ARC glared at her, but he knew she was right, so he got up and went to the bar, leaving her with a grin that threatened to split her face.

_"Verd ori'shya beskar'gam."_


End file.
